In The End
by My Whole Life Is Thunder
Summary: Gibbs is in an accident on the job and doesn't surrivive. In the end Tony goest to tell Jackson
1. Chapter 1

**PROLOUGE**

Jackson Gibbs opened up the microwave and removed the soup cup. The store was slow this time of day so he could have a nice leisurely lunch some days he even closed and went out to lunch nut, today something didn't feel right so he decided to stay in. Suddenly he heard the door open and somebody entered.

"Good Afternoon." Jackson greeted.

"Its afternoon but, it's not good." Jackson heard a familiar voice reply.

Jackson looked up and saw that the voice belonged to one Tony DiNozzo.

"What brings you to Stillwater Tony?" Jackson asked.

Silence Jackson looked up again and saw Tony staring into space. "Tony" He said again. Slowly Tony turned toward him. When Tony faced him he was shocked by what he saw Tony's hair and clothes were a mess and he had hurt in his eyes which were red and puffy.

"Tony what's wrong?" Jackson asked alarmed whatever was making Tony DiNozzo silent and cry had to be bad real bad.

Tony took several deep breaths before he finally found the strength to speak. The words he spoke brought the most pain Jackson would feel in his life.

"Jackson Jethro is dead."


	2. Chapter 2

**Ch. 1**

Team Gibbs was chasing the man who had murdered a Petty Officer stationed at Quantico. The killer was on the opposite side of the dock from Gibbs and Ziva and pushed a stack of boxes in front of Tony and McGee. Tony tried to jump over them but, tripped and wound up falling into the river McGee had the perp cornered when he realized Tony was missing he looked down and saw the splash mark.

"Where's DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"Boss help Tony fell in the river! I have the perp cornered please HELP!" McGee called.

Gibbs and Ziva raced over to the other side of the dock.

"Ziver help McGee I'm going in after Tony!" Gibbs ordered. Ziva unbuttoned her top button of her shirt somewhat exposing her breasts causing the perp to become distracted which allowed McGee to get behind him and cuff him. He then put him in the back of the charger and locked the door. While Gibbs dove into the river after Tony.

Gibbs emerged several moments later with a thankfully still breathing Tony. Gibbs set Tony on the dock and ordered him to sit still until Ducky arrived to check him out.

"McGee calls Ducky and tell him to get to the docks because Tony fell in!" Gibbs ordered with a slight strain in his voice which McGee chalked up to him being in the water.

McGee did as he was told.

"Ducky you have to get down to the docks Tony fell in!" McGee yelled into the phone.

Ducky gave Tim some instructions to care for Tony until Ducky arrived to check him out. About halfway through the phone conversation Gibbs who was walking to the car to drive the perp back grabbed his chest and fell over.

"OH MY GOD HE COLLAPSED!" McGee yelled.

"Anthony?" Ducky asked concerned.

"No Gibbs! He just grabbed his chest and collapsed! I think he had a heart attack! HELP!" McGee cried.

McGee went over to Gibbs and followed Ducky's instructions he found a faint pulse and wrapped Gibbs in his jacket before calling 911.

"What's going on?" Tony asked approaching McGee an order from the boss had no meaning when the boss was lying on the dock unconscious.

"Gibbs had a heart attack." McGee said.

The ambulance and Ducky both arrived five minutes later. Ducky climbed in the back of the ambulance with Gibbs while Palmer checked out Tony.

"We have to get the perp back to NCIS then we will come to Bethsada." Ziva said.

McGee and Ziva go in to the chargers Ziva drove the perp and McGee drove himself. Palmer drove Tony back in the ME van.

They arrived back at NCIS and were greeted by a frantic Abby.

What's going on you guys? She asked. What's wrong?

"Tony fell in the river." McGee explained.

"OH NO! Are you OK?" She asked.

"I'm fine" Tony replied.

"Where's Gibbs?" She asked.

""He had a heart attack." Ziva said.

"After he dove in to save Tony" McGee added.

They asked Vance to take care of the perp who called another team to interrogate and finish up the arrest. The team, Abby, and Jimmy drove to Bethsada where they were greeted by a distraught Ducky. They looked into his tear filled eyes and knew what happened before he spoke.

"Jethro died in the ambulance." Ducky said sadly.

"THIS IS YOUR ENTIRE FAULT!" Abby cried pointing to Tony.

"Really what were you thinking jumping that box?" McGee asked.

"DiNozzo never thinks!" Ziva yelled.

"You should have been more careful Anthony." Ducky merely said.

Jimmy just stood there silently when Tony looked to him hoping for support. Tony couldn't believe it the man he saw as a father was dead and his family blamed him. He ran out of the hospital to his car and drove in the direction of Stillwater to inform the man Tony assumed would hate him the most and Tony would not fault him for it.


	3. Chapter 3

McGee was siting at his desk he couldn't believe what had happened that afternoon he couldn't believe Gibbs was dead. Gibbs. How could Gibbs have had a heart attack? He though. Ducky had said the stress of the case, mixed with Tony being in danger, mixed with the strain of pulling Tony out of the cold water was simply too much. Still it seemed odd Gibbs should have been stronger than that. Ziva walked into the Bullpen

'Hey McGee have you seen Tony?" She asked.

"No not since the hospital." McGee replied.

Ziva paled when she got the answer.

"Why do you ask?" McGee asked.

"I started to feel bad about what I said when we got back and went to look for him thinking he had come back here but I have not seen him and he isn't answering his phone." Ziva said concerned.

McGee's face drained of color as he remembered what he had said to Tony back at Bethsada. He couldn't believe he had said those things. Gibbs who was like a second father to him was dead and he was angry he shouldn't have projected it on Tony he had done nothing wrong. "Did you go by his apartment?" McGee finally asked.

"I did not" Ziva replied exiting.

Abby was in her lab she wasn't playing any music, her hair was down, and she was sitting in a chair in the center of the office. She held Bert in her arms as she cried. Her Gibbsy was dead. Just that morning he had brought her a Caf-Pow and kissed her where she had burned her hand with boiling water the night before now he was dead from a heart attack. He had jumped in the water to save Tony who had fallen in chasing a perp and it had been too much for him now he was gone. Ziva had come down looking for Tony mumbling about "the hospital' and "that she was sorry". "I wonder what that was about." She asked Bert after Ziva had ruled out that Tony was in the lab. To be honest she didn't even remember leaving the hospital one minute Ducky told her Gibbs was dead the next she was in her lab. Suddenly McGee came down.

"OH Timmy!" She cried.

"I know Abs." He whispered.

"Can you drive me home?" She asked.

"Sure I am just waiting for a call from Ziva about Tony." McGee explained.

"Why is everybody so worried about Tony?" She asked.

"Abbs we were pretty hard on him in the hospital." McGee explained.

"Oh My Gosh! Where is he! Last thing I remember is hearing that Gibbs died." Abby exclaimed.

"I don't know nobody had seen him." McGee explained.

Jimmy Palmer was nervous this was his first solo autopsy and it was Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Ducky had asked him on the drive back from the hospital if he could handle this one on his own. He had said yes knowing it how close Gibbs and Ducky were and that Ducky was really hurting. He didn't know what to feel. He and Gibbs weren't exactly close but he sure as hell didn't see it as a good thing. He remembered back in the hospital seeing his mentor cry. He was still processing Gibbs dying when everybody started blaming Tony. Poor Tony looked to him for support and all he did was standing there trying to find words. He hoped Tony was OK and wished he was there to help him through this.

Ducky lay his head down on his desk he had his glasses in front of him. He could faintly see Palmer standing there over what he knew was Jethro. He had ridden in the ambulance with Gibbs so he was there when he died. Gibbs had been unconscious since he collapsed on the dock but, he opened his eyes and Ducky swore he said something before he died. Ducky finally realized he had said "Tell Nozzo not fault." "Tell DiNozzo it's not his fault." Then Ducky realized he had blamed Tony for Jethro dying. They all had except Jimmy who was silent.

Ziva David drove fast even for her. She was heading to Tony's apartment hoping to find him and apologize for yelling at him after Gibbs died. Gibbs was dead. The man who was a father to her and her protector was gone. He suffered a heart attack after saving Tony from drowning. When she got to Tony's she saw his car wasn't there. She hoped he had just walked home. She entered the building and walked up to his floor and then to his apartment. She knocked on the door nothing. Her stomach dropped. She looked in the peephole and didn't see him. Finally she'd had enough and picked the lock with the pin in her hair. She entered and searched the whole apartment three time s before realizing he wasn't there. She slid down against the counter took out her phone and called McGee. Once they were done talking she hung up and started to cry.

Jackson Gibbs opened up the microwave and removed the soup cup. The store was slow this time of day so he could have a nice leisurely lunch some days he even closed and went out to lunch nut, today something didn't feel right so he decided to stay in. Suddenly he heard the door open and somebody entered.

"Good Afternoon." Jackson greeted.

"Its afternoon but, it's not good." Jackson heard a familiar voice reply.

Jackson looked up and saw that the voice belonged to one Tony DiNozzo.

"What brings you to Stillwater Tony?" Jackson asked.

Silence Jackson looked up again and saw Tony staring into space. "Tony" He said again. Slowly Tony turned toward him. When Tony faced him he was shocked by what he saw Tony's hair and clothes were a mess and he had hurt in his eyes which were red and puffy.

"Tony what's wrong?" Jackson asked alarmed whatever was making Tony DiNozzo silent and cry had to be bad real bad.

Tony took several deep breaths before he finally found the strength to speak. The words he spoke brought the most pain Jackson would feel in his life.

"Jackson Jethro is dead."

"Excuse me?" Jackson asked.

"Your baby is dead! I killed him!" Tony cried.

Jackson gripped the counter to keep himself from falling as he took in the news that his son was dead and wondered why Tony the man Jethro saw as a son was saying he had killed him. "Were Tony's problems truly so severe that he would kill the man he saw as a father and then feel guilt?" Jackson thought.

"What happened?" He asked.

"We were chasing a perp and I fell in the water Jethro went in after me and got me out but, when he got out he had a heart attack! It's my entire fault!" Tony was loudly crying now.

Jackson somehow found the strength to walk over to Tony and hugged him. That's when the door opened a second time and the sheriff walked in. "Everything OK Jackson? I noticed a strange man walk in." He asked. (A new sheriff had been elected the month before who didn't know Jethro probably born after he left so he didn't know about the team.)

"No it's not." Jackson replied.

"My son Jethro is dead." Jackson told him that's when it hit him his son was truly dead and that's when he lost it.

"I'm so sorry." The sheriff told him.

Tony helped Jackson close and then drove him home. Tony wound up staying in Stillwater until the funeral four days later.


	4. Chapter 4

Tony drove Jackson to D.C. for Gibbs's funeral. "You OK Jackson?" he asked.

"No" Jackson replied.

"I'm sorry he was a great man." Tony said.

"He was" Jackson replied.

"I'm really going to miss him. He was like a father to me." Tony said.

"Me to Tony me to. Jethro was a great dad to Kelly and when he lost her he took it so hard I always wondered how he lived with that. Guess I'll find out now. When he joined NCIS, became Senior Agent, and got your team he acted as a father to you guys because he knew you needed love and he could fill the void I guess." Jackson explained.

"He's with his girls now. I and the team will try to help you through this." Tony replied.

"Thanks you're a good man I can see why my Jethro had so much respect for you." Jackson told him. Hearing that made Tony feel pride knowing that Gibbs respected him well having that fact confirmed he had always suspected it.

They arrived in D.C. and Tony sat in the back instead of with the team. About half an hour in they allowed people to go up to the casket and say goodbye. On the way back to his seat Abby pulled on Tony's sleeve. "Why didn't you and Jackson sit here? Where the family is supposed to sit." She whispered.

"I just sat where Tony sat." Jackson replied.

"I didn't think you wanted the killer to sit with the family." Tony replied.

"Oh you mean about the business at the hospital." McGee replied.

"What happened at the hospital?" Jackson asked.

Ziva got a look of embarrassment on her face "We were kind of hard on Tony at Bethsada." She explained.

"Tony we are so… so… so sorry!" Abby cried.

"Yeah Tony we should have been nicer to you. You were hurting just as much as we were." McGee told him.

"Yes Tony we were too hard on you its just losing Gibbs was real hard for us." Ziva said.

"Tony man I am sorry I didn't speak up for you I was just trying to process what happened." Jimmy said.

"Anthony I should have been nicer to you its just losing Jethro was quite the shock. I do however stand by my statement that you need to be more careful I don't want to see you on my autopsy table." Ducky said.

"Tony can um try to stay uh with us until after I retire I err don't like cutting friends open." Jimmy stammered.

"Sure Jimmy. As for you guys I love you and I am glad you didn't mean what you told me. Now scoot over you got two new people sitting here now." Tony said.

Jackson stood at the podium to make his speech. Tony was supposed to speak but, when the time came he just couldn't. _Jethro was a happy child who was very close with his mother and I. when his mom died I guess I kind of dropped the ball I was so busy with my own grief that I neglected his pain I just kept bringing home a girl of the week not seeing it was hurting him. Jethro found happiness again with his wife Shannon and daughter Kelly that happiness was far too short however when Shannon and Kelly were killed. After that I made another stupid choice with a girl and we didn't speak for years Shannon and Kelly was the thing keeping us close. Anyway years later he became leader of an NCIS team Anthony (Tony) DiNozzo Jr., Timothy (Tim) McGee, Ziva David, Abigail (Abby) Sciuto the forensic expert, Donald (Ducky) Mallard head ME, and James (Jimmy) Palmer assistant ME. They gave him family. Jethro gave his life saving Tony from downing he suffered a heart attack after the stress. Mr. DiNozzo should not feel guilt though because if you look up Semper Fi in the dictionary you'd see his picture. He truly loved that boy and could not have coped if he had lost him. Rule Eight Never Take Anything For Granted._


	5. Chapter 5

**EPILOUGE **

It was exactly two years after his son died that Jackson Gibbs's time came to an end. His health had started to fail after the loss of his son. His age finally caught up with him. Six months after Jethro died he retired and sold the store to a young man who had worked for him in his high school years before moving away for school he had graduated and moved back to settle down with his wife and newborn son.

Tony had of course been made Senior Agent and McGee became Senior Field Agent. This time was different then when Gibbs was down in Mexico this time the team was supportive of him mainly because they knew no matter what they did Gibbs wouldn't come back this time. Tony had down away with rule 12 and Abby and McGee began dating right away they married three months later and their son was born one week shy of the anniversary of Gibbs's death. Right around the time Jackson retired Tony was shot in a sting gone wrong. He died on the operating table and swears to God he got to heaven and saw Gibbs who walked up to him, looked him square in the eye, Gibbs Slapped him, and said "Get out of here!" and Tony went back. Right after that he and Ziva began dating and six months later they married.

Tony was with Jackson when he died. After Gibbs died Tony started to visit him on regular basis if Jackson felt well him and Tony would go and watch a game or practice of whatever sport was going on at Stillwater High or just hang out at places Jethro had gone in his younger days. If Jackson didn't feel well he and Tony would watch T.V. or just talk.

Tony sat in the room with Jackson though everybody sent their own messages of goodbye Tony and Ziva were the only ones who came. Abby and McGee were with their son Thomas Jethro who had just turned one, Ducky himself aging had retired not long after Gibbs's death and was traveling the world while he still could even if he didn't develop Alzheimer's he knew eventually he would become too old for travel to be a wise idea, and Jimmy and Breena were visiting family over there vacation. Tony was surprised Ziva came she was eight and a half months pregnant with a son.

"We are thinking about naming him Jackson Jethro DiNozzo." Tony whispered to Jackson.

"I like that. Hey Tony remembers Jethro was so proud of you. You were like a son to him. Never forget him and carry on his legacy I am the last of the Gibbs family. Honor us." Jackson said weakly then he was gone.

"I will never forget him and I will carry on your legacy." Tony replied fighting off tears.

Ziva put her hand on her husband's shoulder Tony put his hand on top of hers and they cried together.


End file.
